Message-ID: <196@ssc-bee.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 21-Sep-84 17:28:14 EDT
Article-I.D.: ssc-bee.196
Posted: Fri Sep 21 17:28:14 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Sep-84 01:41:39 EDT
Organization: Boeing Aerospace, Seattle
Lines: 15


	My Apple motherboard has gotten quite dusty from
	running without the top, and I suspect oxidation
	has occurred to some of the socket and chip contacts.
	I want to clean up all the contacts.  Is it safe to
	immerse the whole board with all chips, resistors,
	capacitors, etc. in place?  If so, what cleaning
	agent is recommended?  Is it likely to help?
	
	Thanks.

-- 
	Mike Eve     Boeing Aerospace, Seattle
	...uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc-bee!eve

Message-ID: <2776@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 25-Sep-84 20:12:05 EDT
Article-I.D.: mit-eddi.2776
Posted: Tue Sep 25 20:12:05 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 27-Sep-84 04:26:52 EDT
References: <196@ssc-bee.UUCP>
Organization: MIT, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 20

IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!  Think about it:  If a machine or board
is working properly, nothing you do to it is likely to improve the
situation.  So don't risk immersion in solvents or physical manipulation
to clean contacts.  Even gentle manpulation can break component leads,
and many solvents leave behind worse deposits than they remove.

However, dust and various airborn grime definitely can be deleterious to
boards.  First, dirt can attract or retain moisture, leading to
corrosion as well as current leakage paths.  Second, and more important,
accumulated dust can significantly reduce air circulation around and
beneath chips, thereby reducing cooling, thereby increasing operating
temperature, thereby increasing the liklihood of component failure.

So it can pay to clean grime from boards, but only if it can be done
nonobtrusively.  The best idea is to vacuum, or better, *blow*, loose
dust from boards, being careful not to touch components with the vacuum
cleaner.  Of course, anytime you use a vacuum cleaner you are raising
are making airborn numerous microscopic particles, so power off all
rotating media and either cover removable magnetic media, or better,
remove them from the room.